Anheuser-Busch Raises Tsingtao Stake to 9.9%
Anheuser-Busch Cos. doubled its stake in China's Tsingtao Brewery Co., signaling a growing turnaround for an industry long been seen by foreign investors as one of China's most punishing.
St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, the world's largest brewery, has exercised a convertible bond to increase its stake in Tsingtao to 9.9% from 4.5%, Tsingtao announced Friday. The mandatory bond conversion is part of an agreement between the two brewers, announced in October, in which Anheuser-Busch will increase its stake in Tsingtao, China's largest brewery, to 27% over seven years.
"We believe that China has the greatest potential in the beer industry in the world outside of the United States," Steve Burrows , president and chief executive officer of Anheuser-Busch International, Inc., said. The company says it has been profitable in China since 2001 by selling Budweiser and Bud Ice beers.
The conversion is the latest sign that China's beer market is regaining its attractions to foreign investors. China last year surpassed the U.S. to become the world's largest beer producer, but the country has been associated with bad bets and big mistakes on the part of some of the world's most storied breweries. Foreign beer companies entered China in force in the 1990s with dreams of building a national brand. They fizzled. Most crowded into the niche market for expensive brews, never attaining significant volumes and suffering price wars and punishing losses. Britain's Bass Brewers PLC, Australia's Foster's Group Ltd. and Denmark's Carlsberg Breweries had all exited from China by the end of the decade.
Now, some big brands are back aggressively, but this time allying with domestic breweries and benefiting from their loyal customer bases and wider distribution reach. SABMiller PLC has a venture with China Resources Enterprises Ltd. to acquire local beer companies and use China Resources' retail network to sell beer. Belgium's Interbrew SA has bought stakes in Chinese breweries, and Carlsberg has started buying Chinese breweries this year.
"In the past, everyone wanted to create the national brand," says Milton Kotler, president of a marketing consulting company that works in China's beer industry. "This time, they're smarter in terms of acquiring powerful brands with local loyalty and taking a more gradual approach."
Anheuser-Busch has invested $170 million in its brewery in Wuhan, in central China's Hubei province, purchased in 1995. The company says it is the leading foreign brand in China, by selling Budweiser and Bud Ice in the premium market segment. Its alliance with Tsingtao, which is separate from its Wuhan operations, could give the company significant marketing and distribution heft, analysts say. The company did not provide sales figures for China but says it reached operating profit here in 2001.
There is no guarantee a foreign conquest of Chinese beer drinkers will be any easier this time. In a trend notable in consumer-goods sectors from shampoo to ice-cream, domestic companies have proved sharp rivals to multinationals in recent years. Local breweries in markets from Shenzhen in the south to Beijing, the capital, are already profitable.
"Chinese domestic brands have been profitable even as the foreign brands have had trouble," says Mr. Kotler. But he adds of the foreign companies this time around: "If you lose money, you're bound to get smarter."
外资再度进军中国啤酒市场
安海斯公司(Anheuser-Busch Cos.)将其在中国青岛啤酒股份有限公司(Tsingtao Brewery Co., 简称：青岛啤酒)的持股增加一倍以上，显示出外资对中国啤酒行业兴趣日渐浓厚。
安海斯将其持有的青岛啤酒可转换债券转换为股票后，其持有的青岛啤酒股份从原来的4.5%增加至9.9%。这批可转换债券是两家公司去年10月签署的战略投资协议的一部分。根据该协议，7年内安海斯里将把在青岛啤酒的持股比例提高至27%。位于圣路易斯的安海斯是全球最大的啤酒生产商；青岛啤酒则是中国最大的啤酒生产商。
Anheuser-Busch International Inc.总裁兼首席执行长Steve Burrows说，"在美国本土以外，我们认为中国是啤酒行业最具增长潜力的市场"。该公司说，由于百威(Budweiser)和百威冰啤(Bud Ice)在中国的销售业绩不俗，自2001年以来公司在中国市场一直保持盈利。
安海斯此举再次表明，中国啤酒市场对外国投资者有著很强的吸引力。中国去年已经超过美国成为世界最大的啤酒生产国，但对于一些大型外国啤酒生产商而言，中国也是他们一度出现重大决策失误的伤心地。上世纪九十年代，一些外国啤酒商带著开发中国啤酒品牌的梦想纷纷涌入中国市场。但由于定位不准，他们的努力后来功亏一篑。这些啤酒生产商都瞄准了高价位啤酒，结果销量上不去，一场价格大战下来，损失惨重。九十年代末，英国的Bass Brewers PLC、澳大利亚的Foster's Group Ltd.和丹麦的嘉士伯(Carlsberg)都带著遗憾离开中国。
但现在，这些著名啤酒品牌又要在中国有大动作。不过他们这次采取了联合国内啤酒生产商的方式，以利用后者忠实的客户群体及庞大的经销网络。SABMiller PLC就与华润创业有限公司(China Resources Enterprise Ltd., 简称：华润创业)拥有一家合资公司，对国内啤酒公司进行收购，并利用华润创业的零售网络销售啤酒。比利时的英特布鲁(Interbrew SA)收购了一些中国啤酒生产商的股份；嘉士伯今年也开始了类似行动。 科特勒营销集团(Kotler Marketing Group)总裁密尔顿?科特勒(Milton Kotler)说，从前，来中国的外国公司个个都想创造在全国知名的啤酒品牌。现在的他们可比以前聪明多了，通过收购当地实力强大且拥有忠实客户的啤酒公司，实施逐步深入的策略。科特勒营销集团是一家总部设在华盛顿的营销和咨询公司，现正活跃于中国的啤酒行业。
安海斯早在1995年就在中国湖北省武汉市收购了一家啤酒公司--百威（武汉）国际啤酒有限公司(Budweiser Wuhan International Brewing Co.)，目前的总投入已经达到1.7亿美元。通过在高档商品市场销售百威和百威冰啤，该公司已经成为中国最大的外国啤酒品牌。啤酒行业分析师说，安海斯与青岛啤酒的合作是其在中国的另一手笔，该公司在中国的营销和分销力量都会因此大大增强。安海斯未提供具体的销售数据。
当然，这并不能保证外资现在很容易就能徵服中国的啤酒消费者。从洗发水到冰激凌，中国的消费品行业已经呈现出一种明显的趋势：国内公司近几年日益成为跨国公司强有力的竞争对手。从南部城市深圳到首都北京，中国当地的啤酒生产商都保持著盈利。
科特勒说，即便是外国啤酒品牌不畅销的时候，中国国内啤酒品牌仍然是盈利的。他还对外国公司说，亏本并不要紧，它会使失败者变得更聪明。
